Back to the hospital...

Mari was able to have a nice break this weekend from hospital food, hospital gowns, hospital lighting, needles, etc... When I saw her yesterday she was looking relaxed and like she was having some sort of bizarre holiday. She wanted everyone to know how much she loves reading everyone's comments on the blog every morning... it really lifts her spirits.

She has to check back into the hospital today to stay in the system. They have moved her to a better room with a window and her own bathroom. She is spending her "waiting time" listening to music, playing scrabble with her mum and Phil and enjoying the flowers that everyone has sent. It's nice to know that she isn't spending her days alone in a room that looks like a medical closet.

She will hopefully get the results from her CT scan today. She is scheduled for surgery on Wednesday. They will be removing one of the lumps in her throat.

This is a very unsettling time, with so many unknowns... the waiting can feel like torture. Please pray that the peace of God would surround our friend - that she would know His closeness and that fear would have no place to settle in her mind.

We are CONFIDENT that our GOOD God will have His way in Mari's LIFE.

-Erin

Still waiting for surgery...

Well... first for the bad news... the surgery still hasn't happened and Mari is feeling quite weak from not being able to eat or drink all day (in preparation for surgery)

In better news, the CT Scan happened (finally!) around 4pm

In even better news, Mari is leaving the hospital now and will be staying with her mum with family friends over the weekend. That will give her a couple of days to rest and recover before having to go back to the hospital on Monday (not sure if this should be in the "better news" category???)

Surgery is now scheduled for Wednesday (not sure if that is good or bad news)

Mari isn't taking phone calls at the moment, but you can communicate with her by text, email or by leaving a comment on this blog.

CT Scan & Surgery Today

Mari is hoping to read this blog this morning... soooo... "Good Morning Beautiful!"

Mari is being prepared for surgery today. She is scheduled for sometime this afternoon. She'll also be having a CT scan around lunch time.

Surgery Postponed...

Well... after a long day waiting for surgery... it never happened! Although, from the sounds of it Mari had a good game of scrabble. :-) The surgery will hopefully happen tomorrow. Please pray it does.

Surgery Today

Rhi just rang me to ask me to pass on some news to everyone...

Mari did well during her biopsy yesterday and they are still waiting for the results of that.

Rhi and Mari had a good sleep last night (thanks to everyone praying for rest!) Phil & Mari were able to get out for a coffee for a couple hours yesterday which was a nice break from the hospital room.

Mari had a look at this blog for the first time yesterday and was really encouraged by all the comments and prayers. Thank you, thank you, thank you

This morning Mari is waiting for her surgeon to visit to confirm what will be happening today. She is expecting to have surgery some time today to remove one of the lumps from her neck. This will help the doctors have a clearer diagnosis. Pray that this goes well and that they will be able to remove enough for testing.

Tomorrow Mari will be having a CT scan at 12:20pm NZ time.

We are all hoping that Mari will be able to go home from the hospital this weekend. They are treating her as a priority, but it is mostly a waiting game at this point.

Mari doesn't have email access at present, but will check this blog when she can to read your comments. Please check with Rhi first via text before planning a visit.

Latest News

Hi, I dropped some stuff off to Mari & Rhi this morning. Two immediate specific requests would be that:

1) the 3pm Wed (NZT) biopsy provides sufficient matter to avoid any need for further invasive tests

2)they can get some rest (neither slept last night). Mari would love to get txt messages, doesn't have email access at present, best to chk first via txt b4 visting due to their need for rest.

Rhi thinks the diagnosis may take up to 2 wks, Mari expected to be in hospital for a few days, will update with any further news as rcvd.

-Marc Fountain.

Prayer Calendar.

Hey folks,

We have now managed to create a shared Google calendar for you to sign up for prayer slots to pray for Mari... prayer is the BEST way you can help right now.

You will have to sign up for a Google account yourself (or you may already have one) but you should be able to view this calendar. In order to add your name to it, you will have to email us your email addy (send to tina at tina@ywam.org.nz) and we'll invite you to share the calendar, once done, you can click 'add an event' to put your name down for some prayer... we think it may adjust the timezones for your region (it's currently in NZ time), hopefully it works, but the good news is that between NZ and England, we can cover around the clock!!

Let us know by posting a comment if there are any problems. If this is all too much, just email us your desired slot or leave a comment here, and we'll mark you in!

 

news.

Dear Friends of Mari, 

This blog has been created to fill you in on some recent news and request urgent prayer.

Over the last few weeks, Mari has been having some tests done on two lumps on her neck.  She hasn't been feeling well (sore throat, fevers, cough...) and when the lumps appeared she was concerned so she went to her doctor to have them tested.

Today, Mari's doctors told her that she is seriously ill with all of her symptoms pointing to "Lymphoma", also known as "Hodgkins Disease".  However, they have had a difficult time obtaining enough cells from the biopsy for a clear diagnosis.  They expect to have a firm diagnosis by the weekend.  Either way, Mari is quite ill and they would like to begin treatment urgently.

This news comes as a huge shock for everyone. Mari's mum, Rhi, arrived from England today to be with her.  Mari is trying to digest the news and prepare herself for a major change in her life.  She's expected to need two years of treatment. If her doctor says she is well enough to travel, she will be leaving for England to begin treatment there. 

Mari is being well looked after and is staying with family friends.  She would have very much liked to have emailed you all personally, but everything has happened so fast that contacting everyone directly just hasn't been possible.  As you can imagine, this is a lot of information for her to digest so suddenly and she would really appreciate your prayers. 

We have set up this blog so that you can leave messages for her.  In the wake of all that's happened this will be the best way for you to get your messages to her, rather than phone or email.

Prayer is the crucial next step.  We will begin around the clock, 24/7 prayer for Mari in NZ & England.  We hope to have a shared online calendar in the next few days for you to use to sign up for prayer slots.  In the meantime, you can email Erin on erinlucas@ywam.org.nz.

Leah will be organising ways for care packages to be delivered to Mari, so if you have a treat that you would like to send her to cheer her up please email: leahburson@gmail.com.

Thank you for your prayers, we know Mari and her family really appreciate it!!